Incinerator for garbage or the like



THERMOJTA 7.'

Sept. 20,1927.

w. c; EPsTEIN INCINERATOR FOR GARBAGE 0R THE LIKE Filed 061'.. 26, 1925 2 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 //v VEN Taf?. w. c. EPS 'rE/N.

ATTUAA/EY Sept. 20, 1927. W. C. EPSTEIN INCINERATOR FOR GARBAGE 0R THELIKE Filed Oct. 26, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /Nl/ENTF? l/V. C. EPSTE//V ATTORNEY."

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PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. EPSTEIN, 0F DAYTON, OHIO.

INCINERATOR FOR GARBAGE 0B THE LIKE.

Application led October 26, 1925. Serial No. 64,8123RQEISS.UED

This invention relates to an incinerator f or garbage or the like and one object of the invention is to provide a domestic incinerator which will be simple in its construction, efcient in its operation and which can be operated at a relativel low cost.

A further object o the invention is to provide such an incinerator in which the burners will not be liable to be clogged by .ashes or falling pieces of refuse, and which will be otherwise of such a character that it can be easily maintained in an operative condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an incinerator having associated therewith a water heater in which the water will be heated by the same flame which consumes the garbage and in which the garbage will not com'e iii contact with the heater.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus which can be easily manufactured and assembled and so produced at a relatively low cost.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the apparatus is described in detail.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an inc inerator einbodying my invention and showing .a portion of the water tank in elevation; Fig. is a section taken on the line 2-2 pf Fig. 41; liTig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. I

In these drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and have shown the saine as comprising a housing which, in the present form of the apparatus, consists of a cylindrical body portion 1 preferably provided with a lining 2 of asbestos or other heat insulating material. This body portion of the housing is supported at its lower end on a base 3 which may if desired, be provided with standards or legs 4 to support the housing in a slightly elevated position. A top casting 5 is secured to the upper end of the cylindrical body portion 1 and is provided with an outlet 6 for roducts of combustion and with an inlet i) which is closed by a hinged door 8 the door and the top casting having overlapping flanges to provide a tight closure.

Mounted within the housing is a. hopper 9 which is preferably supported at its upper end on the housing and has its side walls spaced some distance from the walls of the cylindrical body portion of the housing and terminating a short distance above the base 3. The walls of the housing 'are perforated, as shown at 10, to heat and to give the opper more or less of the characteristics of a grate. I have here shown the hopper as having its upper end flared so thatthe to of the hopper is'of a diameter substantial y equal to the interior diameter of the cylindrical portion of the housing and the hop er may have at its upper end an outward y extending flange 11 which rests upon the up er end of the cylindrical body portion of) the housing. If desired, the hopper may be inade in a plurality of sections 12 each of which is individually secured to the housing in such a manner as to support the section in proper relation to the walls of the housing and to the other sections of the hopper. In the present construction each section is provided with a transverse slot 13 through which extends a bolt 14 which serves to secure the section of the hopper to the housing, the bolt in the present instance passing through both the body portion of the' housing and the top casting and serving to connect the three parts one to the other. The transverse slots 13 permit the easy assembling and positioning of the sections of the hopper, and enable the hopper to be made more or less roughly, as by casting, and assembling Without the necessity of an exact positioning of the several sections. The several sections may be of a combined width slightly less than the total circumference of the hopper as it isnot objectionable to have a space or slot between the edges of the adjacent sections, and in this manner the assembly of the hopper and its mounting in the housing is greatly facilitated. The hopper is provided at its lower end with a closure 15 which is preferably perforated. As here shown, this closure is circular in forni and is provided about its peripheral edge with an upstandiiig flange 16 which forms a seat to receive the lower ends of the several sections of the hopper. Each section of the hopper is provided with a slotted lug 17 which is secured to the closure 15 by means of a bolt 18, thereby rigidly securing the closure to the lioppei and rigidly connectin the lower ends of the several ermit the passage ofsections of t e hopper and maintaining the latter in their proper relation one to the other. The closure 15 has a central portion 19 extending upwardly into the 'hopper to a point some distance above the lower end of the hopper, this upwardly extending portion being here shown as dom shaped. The dome shaped portion of the closure is spaced yfrom the side walls of the hopper so that it will extend into and be surrounded by the garbage l which is tobe consumed. The upwardly extending portion of the closure is also perforated and preferably the perforations are 1n the form of slots formed in the lateral portions thereof and the central top portion side walls of the ho per. The burner may take various forms ut'it `is desirable that the gas openings or jets should not be 'formed in the top wall thereof as this would permit them to be clogged by ashes` or fall-- ing pieces of'refuse. I have here shown the burner as compr1s1ng two annular portlons rigidly connected one to the other 'and spaced slightly apart to provide annular slots 22 land 23 between the inner and outer edges, res ectively, of the two parts of the burner. hus the gas jets extend laterally and are so arranged that the `ashes or other matter will. not drop into the same. l burner is connected with a suitable source of gas supply by means of a supply pipe 24. I also prefer to provide an as pan 25' to receive the ashes fallingI from the hopper and, in the present instance, the panis provided with langes which rest upon and are supported by flanges 26 forming a part of the baseA 3,- thus permitting the pan to be easily placed in and removed from its position under the burner.

' 'In the present embodiment of the`appa ratus I have associated withthe incinerator a water heater in which the water will be heated by the same fire that consumes the garbage, thus accomplishing the two results, that is, the heating of the water andthe inl cineration of the garbage, with a consumpbeentlrely out of contact with the garbage and will not interfere with the freeassage of the heat through the-openings in t e hoper. The water heating coil is connected at th ends with a water tank 28 which may be of any suitable character and a portion only of which is here shown, the arrangement being such that the water in the tank in the lower.

The

will circulatethrough the coil-and back to the tank. Preferably the burner is automatically controlled'to maintain thewater this temperaure is also suilicient to consume the garbage in the hop er.y As here shown, the gas supply pipe 24 as interposed therein an `automatic valve29 with which is operatively connected a thermostat 30ywhich projects into the tank and serves t o en the valveand admit as to the burner when the temperature o f t o water tank. falls below al predetermined degree and to again close the valve when the water has been raised to the desired temperature. Such valves and thermostats are well vknown in the water heatingart'and it is not necessary .to here illustrate or describe the same in detail. A supplemental gas pipe' 31 leads from the supply pipe 24, on the outer side of the valve 29,- to -a pilot burner 32 arranged adjacent to the main burner21 and here shown as arranged centrally thereof and directly beneath the unperforated top portion of the dome 19. `By this arrangement of the pilot burner the top-v portion of the dome prevents ashes or refuse from falling into the pilot burner and clogging the same.

The operation of the apparatus will be readil understood from the foregoingdescriptlon and it will be\a parent vthat the pilot burner 31 will be norm y lighted'and that gas will be admitted to the main burner at intervals determined by the temperature of the water in the tank. The iiame from the burner rising about the outer side of the hopper and entering thedome shaped portion 19 serves not only to heat the water in the coil 27 but also to consume the garbage in the hopper. It isnot essential that the burner should burn long enough at any one time to consume all the garba e but the gar bage may'be deposited in the opper in such quantity and at such times as may 'be desired i i lll() and as the burner `operates from time to time .fumes or odor can Aescape from the appa' ratus into the room in which it is located and all products of combustion are carried to the exterior of the yhouse through the outlet 6. If desired, a packing of heat resisting material, such as asbestos, mav be inserted between the closure 8 and the flange surrounding the opening 7 to more tightly seal theijoint.

vice will operate as a water heater at al1 times regardless of whether or not it is used Vlil) It is customary with many people to burn their garbage inthe furnace during the winiso as an incinerator but in order toconcentrate the heat more effectively on the water pipes a shield 33 of heat resisting material may be inserted in the hopper to close the openings therein.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as various modifications may occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having an inlet at the upper end thereof and a closure for said inlet, a hopper supported within said housing, spaced from the side walls thereof and having perforated side walls, said hopper having its open upper end arranged adjacent to said inlet and having its lower end near the lower end of said housing, a perforated closure for the lower end of said housing, having a dome-like portion extending upwardly into said hopper for a relatively short distance from the bottom thereof and spaced from the side walls thereof, said dome-like port-ion of said closure having its lateral portions perforated and the upper central part imperforate, a main burner supported beneath said hopper, and a pilot burner supported beneath the imperforate part of the upwardly extending portion of said closure.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, ya housing, a hopper supported in said housing and spaced from the side walls thereof, a' burner supported beneath said hopper, a water heating coil supported about said hopper between the same and said hous- 4 ing, a tank with which said coil is connected, and means con'trolledr b the temperature of the water in said tank or controlling the operation of said burner.

3. In an apparatus of the character de-l scribed, a housing havin an inlet at the upper end thereof and a c osure for said inlet, a hopper supported in said housin with its open upper end adjacent to sai inlet and having apertured side walls spaced from the side walls of said housing, an apertured closure for the lower end of said hopper, a main burner arranged beneath said hopper, a water heating coi wound about and spaced from said hopper, a tank having circulating connection with said coil, a valve to control the flow of gas to said burner, a thermostat operatively connected with said valve and extending into said tank, and a pilot burner supported adjacent to said main burner.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing having an inlet at the upper end thereof and a closure for said inlet, a hopper supported in said housing with its open upper end adjacent to said inlet and having apertured side walls spaced from the side walls of said housing, an apertured closure secured to lthe lower end of said hopper, a burner arranged beneath said hopper and having jets arranged respectively beneath said closure and beneath the space between said hopper and said housing a water heating coil supported in the space between said hopper and said housing, a tank having circulating connection with said coil, a thermostat mounted in said tank, and a valve controlled by said thermostat to control the flow of gas to said burner.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing, a hopper supported 'in said housing and spaced from the side walls thereof, a burner supported beneath said hopper, a water heating device comprising a part extending about said hopper, and means controlled by the temperature of the water in said heating device to control the operation o-f said burner.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a hopper, a water heatin device comprising a part surrounding sai hopper and spaced therefrom, a 'burner arranged beneath said hopper and said part of said water heating device and means controlled by the temperature of the water in said heating device to control the operation of said burner.

7. Iny an apparatus of the character described, a` hopper to receive material to be consumed, a water heating device in heat receiving relation to the hopper, a main burner arranged in operative relation to said hopper and said water heatin device, a valve to control the supply of uel to said main burner, a pilot burner adjacent to said main burner, and means controlled by the temperature of the water in said water heating device to open and close said valve.

h In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature ereto.

WILLIAM C. EPSTEIN. 

